Ireland’s neolithic passage tombs were not just the burial place of the elite – new research

Ireland’s neolithic passage tombs were not just the burial place of the elite – new research

In County Meath in eastern Ireland sits the world heritage site of Brú na Bóinne. The late 4th millennium BC megalithic tombs have been labelled “passage tombs” by archaeologists because they typically feature a narrow passage leading to an internal chamber, covered by a large circular mound. Centuries of antiquarians and archaeologists thought they were burial places for the elite of Neolithic Irish society. Genetic analysis of human remains wi…